>> good morning. we start with all the saber rattli rattling diplomatically overseas. plenty of tough talk to go around. in asia, the vice president says the sword stands ready against north korea with now new republican support to use that sword, if need be. we are live with the international fallout. and gearing up for a fight. the folks in georgia fresh off that near miss now turning into a proxy war for democrats and republicans. >> this should be a wake-up call for the republican party in the south. also this morning, a face and a name to go with a tougher tone on immigration. "usa today" reporting a 23-year-old is now the first dreamer deported. the reporter behind that scoop is joining us live later in the show. lots to cover and we have it all covered. chris jansing at the white house and on set stewart holiday former ambassador to the u.n. and two seasoned white house reporters julie of the associated press and david of the "washington post."

kelly, i'll head first to you overseas because we are seeing now these new images of the vice president talking with u.s. troops in the region and they're getting this new message from leadership. walk us through it. >> yeah. somewhat becoming a familiar message at this point, halelie. walked aboard an aircraft carrier in front of a crowd of 2,500 sailors. he was cheered. there were whistles in the audience when he took that stage and he delivered what is becoming a familiar message to north korea, really. warning them not to test the resolve of the u.s. military or the u.s. president. also saying that there would be an effective and overwhelming response to any use of chemical, excuse me, conventional or nuclear weapons on the part of north korea. but, also, telling these sailors that the u.s. would continue to work with its allies and

partners in the region to put both diplomatic and economic pressure on the north korean regime to effect change. look, hallie, these are young men and women who live on the front lines of this threat every day. 50,000 u.s. military personnel in japan. 28,500 in south korea. they know all too well this threat. i would say the reception today in japan was one of warmth. but reserve given the threat. hallie? >> kelly, thank you very much live from seoul. i want to head over to chris jansing who is behind us here at the white house. a lot of discussion about this carl vinson group that is heading off the coast of the korean peninsula. apparently wasn't there last week when we thought they were headed in that direction. what did we learn more overnight on why that isn't the case and where those ships are now. >> this is a developing story. looks as if the white house probably got bad information from the defense department.

let's back it up and do it chronological chronologically. the "carl vinson" and its strike force were going to be moving and they didn't say where, though. then you had president trump meeting at mar-a-lago with president xi and the next day general mcmaster goes on a sunday show and says, look, he thinks the deployment would be prudent and, in fact, said the president had been given a full range of options. then it just sort of picked up steam. it was reaffirmed by people here at the white house. what was never said is that the "carl vinson" had another thing to do first. an exercise that was planned. these are things planned for month and not something you necessarily blow off and let's be clear that aircraft carrier would not be the weapon of choice in a situation like this. having said that, it is, we are told and we seem to see, finally, not only heading in that direction in the direction of korea off the korean

peninsula, but also that their deployment has been extended for 30 days. the problem, as you well know, hallie. we saw in south korea headlines like trump's lie and questions being raised when there is an expression of military might, is it empty threats by the u.s.? >> we want to ask you to hang out throughout the commercial break because we want to talk politics. stewart, i want to go to you. talking about this idea that the u.s. may, in fact, may not be able to shoot down a missile, for example, from pyongyang. how prepared is the u.s. to counter any kind of attack in your view? >> i think they're well prepared. on the longer range, intercontinental ballistic defense systems we have been about 50% on those tests. on the defense we have been pretty effective. most of those are deployed on naval platforms. we have naval assets in the region and i do think, of

course, the "vinson" is going to be hanging around the korean peninsula for about 30 days. i'm confident as it relates to the region and we're just going to have to keep working on the longer-range missile. >> let me pull up this map. in california and alaska and these two spots. is that enough? should the u.s. being doing more? >> i think we should be doing more. first of all we need to make sure what we have works effectively. the sea base are really effective and we've got to keep perfecting the technology. the north korean are not there yet in terms of a missile that can reach the united states, but they're working on. >> vice president pence is in the region here. he did an interview overnight that i want to play a little bit for and have you guys react. let's listen. >> can you see a direct negotiation with north korea and the u.s.? >> i think not at this time. the policy that president trump has articulated is to marshal the support of our allies in the

region here in japan and south korea. and nations around the world. and china. >> from a diplomatic standpoint, is there any circumstance where you can see direct negotiations happening? should they happen? >> first, it's interesting that the policy pronouncement that we're moving from strategic patience from active pressure and engagement. we don't know what that engagement means. we've seen the active pressure part of it. i don't see direct talks starting without some sort of commitment by the north koreans to either seize testing or taking some sort of other action. >> i was watching "today" show this morning and he had something interesting to say to willie geist. i want you to listen to that and then talk about it. >> if the war was over here, itt wouldn't be over here. it would be the end of north korea, but what it would not do is hit america. the only way it could oever com

to america is with a misal and we will not let that happen. >> senator graham saying let's fight them there so we don't have to fight them here. under the right circumstances, he would support a preemptive strike. down the line. what is your take? >> problem with that if you look at a map of korea how close seoul is and a major population center even with artillery and conventional weapons you can do a lot of damage and kill a lot of people. our willingness to take military action is just the right thing, but the idea of launching a preemptive strike is very tricky. lots of ramifications there. >> senator graham is acknowledging it wouldn't be bad for the korean peninsula and the population centers there. hey, at least america would be protected, julie. >> i think that maybe speaks to president trump's america first sort of approach and trying to split the difference a little bit of having a new president. still very new president dealing with all these foreign policy issues just on the first 90 days i think we're at. >> a real foreign policy folks

for this president so far. >> the last few weeks it has and not necessarily because he wants it that way. i think to the point of having a preemptive strike. 15,000 u.s. troops in the region and china also closely watching this and this could escalate way beyond the region. >> i want to hit on a big international story that has developed overnight with president trump's secretary of state essentially saying they are relooking, looking again at the iran nuclear deal. ordering this top to bottom review including whether they will kill this thing. the hidden headline is that the secretary of state is acknowledging right now iran is going along with the deal and complying with it. this review, how big of a deal is it, stewart? >> this is part of the agreement itself. every 90 days to review compliance. this is expected. >> came in just under deadline with this. >> but also trying to make a statement that they think that president obama and some of this because of the transition, but

there were some sanctions and some activity that were not executed even within the framework. i think they're trying to make sure that the number one the agreement is implemented but leave some room for the possibility of exploring sanctions with congress if they feel it is necessary. >> what is the one thing, stewart, you are watching over the next 48, 72 hours the next couple weeks here? >> i think korea is, obviously, he has now said kim jong-un that they're testing a missile a month. if we get into this, we're used to this on the national days and significant days and ramping up. will he start a pattern of behavior that will try to draw the united states into a conflict or blakemail us for more economic benefit. >> do you have a prediction? >> i think he'll make some noise. >> thank you for joining us. i appreciate it. julie, david, stick around. up next, we are heading to georgia and then beyond. both sides say kind of a victory for both of them. we know that can't be true come

june. what has become a proxy war and where does the fight head next? >> we may not know the outcome for some time. but let me tell you this, there is no doubt that this is already a victory for the ages. ♪ ♪ ♪ take on the mainstream. introducing nissan's new midnight edition. ♪ my insurance rates are but dad, you've got... ...allstate. with accident forgiveness they guarantee your rates won't go up just because of an accident. smart kid. indeed.

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a team of thousandsmuch to forward and get fresh leadership into washington. i think we're going to win on june 20th. i say bring it on. money buys a lot when it's a very compressed race. that won't be the same in the runoff. republicans are united. we know that this is an important race and it's going to stay in the hands of a republican and i'm excited about the next 60 days. there they are, head to head. os past hour and karen handel in this race that is framed on a referendum basically on president trump. ossoff came in first without hitting 50%. lineup and going face-to-face with handel in a runoff this summer. ron allen is in atlanta and chris jansing is back with us from the white house. i'm also joined by jason osborn, former senior communication and back with me my fellow white house reporters david and julie with "associated press."

all that said, ron, we are starting with you. what are we hearing from both sides this morning? a lot of reaction and those sound bites set it up well. republicans saying, this is about republicans coming together and united and democrats saying we are resisting donald trump now and ossoff trying to frame it as a local issue. >> he is. he said all things, all politics are local and he's right. but he did accomplish something. he got 48% of the vote in a district that is heavily republican, although hillary clinton lost here by only a couple percentage points in a district that's been republican since the 1970s. tom price the hlt of course, won here big not long ago. but the district's changing. so, the question is, what does this mean going forward? obviously, the democrats are declaring victory saying this is a major upset and a major step forward. the republicans are emphasizing this was a huge race in a compressed period of time. there were 18 different candidates. 11 different republicans and for handel to get 19%, she says is

just the beginning in that, in fact, the republicans will come together in the runoff in 60 days and she thinks she will prevail. she is a very well known candidate here statewide and she's cast ossoff something of an outsider. he lives just outside the district, although he did grow up here. they say he is basically not from here. he's a creation of hollywood and the national progressive movement. democrats nationally are trying to also seize momentum here. here is tom perez the democratic party chair talking about the race this morning. >> there's a lot of energy out here right now. that's how we went from tom price winning by 23% to john ossoff on the verge of victory. i've been traveling across the country this week and the energy is palpable. we'll translate that energy into more votes. >> we'll see. a big turnout here for an election of this sort, bs but again, a different playing field

june 20th when ossoff has to take on one republican, not 11. see how he, if he can prevail and push over that 50% mark going forward. but last night he didn't do it. a win is a win and a loss is a loss. >> definitely a different dynamic come june. chris jansing, do you know who is watching this very closely? donald trump. where you are at the white house. >> he said glad to be of help. that was his tweet this morning. he made that robo call that went out to the district time and time again. he put out half a dozen tweets and he sort of kept this narrative going from the republican side that ossoff doesn't live in his district and that he'll raise taxes and he's super liberal and setting up what is going to be part of the mantra going forward that this is georgia versus hollywood. this was an incredibly extensive congressional race. $14 million. more than $8 million just for ossoff. most of it came from outside of the state. a lot of it, as the republicans

like to point out, from the west coast. so, today, the president tweeting despite major outside money and 11 republican candidates big r win with runoff in georgia. again, glad to be of help. now, the question is, as you've pointed out, halliea lot of democrats looking at this as a referendum on trump. will it be predictive? that we can't really say. what we can say is that they wrapped up a lot of intention in this. which means coming out of this, should the democrats win? it gives them a lot of momentum. you see with tom perez deciding to go there, this is a place where they put a lot of eggs in this basket. it matters in that sense and it matters a lot. >> you're probably right, chris jansing there at the white house. thank you. let's pick up where chris left off. the role of donald trump right now in this election. here's what karen handel had to

say about him. >> he called to say c congratulations and encourage me and let me know as we go into june 20th it's all hands on deck for republicans. >> do you think that president trump will come to georgia and campaign with you? >> i would hope so. >> karen handel didn't mention donald trump in that speech last night and now she says she hopes he campaigns with her. >> it was obvious that he was very invested in this, not only from the standpoint of providing another win but making sure that congress and the republicans still have a substantial majority. i think one thing i would like to point out on this race is a lot of people aren't looking at the total numbers of this, or the turnout vote. less than 50% that turned out in this race. 70%, 75% in 2016 for georgia six. there are over 100,000 votes left for republicans to get and the democrats only have around 20,000. >> are you telling me it all

comes down to turnout? >> when you have $8 million, you can do an early vote program. you can do an absentee ballot program. the 11 republicans couldn't do any of that. >> i know how you're going to answer this next question. is there a real winner here? both sides say they won. john ossoff and who is right? either of them? none of them? >> i personally think what is going to happen in june is there is much more down side for the democrats because they're so invested in this race now. democrats are dying to show their intuseiasm for resisting trump and participating in elections. they certainly turned out for this race, but can they keep the momentum going? can they actually get this candidate over the top in june? it's a really tough race for them from this point forward because the republicans, indeed, will be unified. >> seems if trump has a influence in the race and that grows getting the turnout is something that can really be helpful. >> little bit of bifurcated

reaction and like lindsey graham, this is a wake-up call. don't give democrats a participation trophy here. is this a wake-up call for the gop? >> i don't want to say it is a wake-up call but certainly the numbers would lend people to believe that there is an intensity for democrats, no question. can they take it over the top and get that 50 plus 1? i don't think so. this is where donald trump is the best at. if he goes down there and continues what he's doing. the rnc for a specific candidate and voter intensity for the republicans is going to be much higher and an easier task for them to keep that 50 plus one. >> does that intensity translate to the next special election that a lot of folks are watching. the one in montana. you're seeing reportedly bernie sanders is going out to campaign there. are we trying to be too predictive? >> montana is a completely different story. georgia six and kansas.

gone both republican and democrat on their statewide positions. and this is going to be no exception. i think anybody filling the shoes of ryan zenke who is probably the best member of congress from montana that i've seen in a very long time it is going to be hard. i don't know who the democrats are fielding, i haven't looked that much into it. that is going to be a competitive race. this is the state that john mussina has come from so the republicans will have a fight. but i think they can win. >> you're sort of shrugging, julie. >> i think it can be predictive in the sense that this is kind of all that the democrats have at this point. all of their energy is focusing into these races. and with all this energy they can't put candidates over the top,the democrats. >> they're also looking ahead to 2018. perhaps the strategy in georgia, paul cane made this point. going after the wealthier

suburbs of these cities in typically red states could be a strategy -- >> developing some new candidates. a young guy, a fresh face. that's something the democrats probably need to develop their bench. so, getting some practice and doing that regardless of what the outcome ultimately is on june 20th is probably valuable. >> i think the big thing is it's not just the candidates, it's the campaign operation. i mean, you can have the best candidate in the world and an awful campaign operation. you can miss deadlines and you can miss mailings and make mistakes on messaging. i think that's a big problem that i see with democrats. they've got a candidate here who doesn't even live in the district. is fearful of commitment if he's dating this woman for 12 years and now they had that seat right there for them to take with 8 million and they couldn't push it over the top. i think from a campaign management perspective, they had some real problems. candidates side you could find some really great candidates. but they really need some help -- >> it is all about turnout. jason, thank you very much.

we are headed live to houston where we're watching former george h.w. bush back in the hospital for second time this year. he is doing okay, but we want to fill you in on his condition when we come back. umbrellas!! you need one of these. you wouldn't put up with an umbrella that covers you part way,

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back now with a look at your morning headlines. aaron hernandez was found dead inside his prison cell this morning. the 27-year-old hung himself with a bed sheet happened just a few days after he was found not guilty in that double murder trial. hernandez was serving a life sentence for a murder in 2013. some of his former teammates will be at the white house today with president trump set to meet with the patriots later on. in fresno, california, three men were shot and killed in less than two minutes in what police are now calling a hate crime. police say the gunman randomly targeted those victims that he did not like white people. the 39-year-old suspect was arrest that scene. he is expected to be charged with murder. today heading overseas the british parliament will approve prime minister may for an early election in june. we told you about that yesterday. may defended her decision to send voters back to polling booths for the third time in two years. her argument is that an official election now would give the

government a stronger position in the negotiations over brexit. george h.w. bush is back in the hospital with another bout of pneumonia. jacob, bring us up to speed here. some good news. the president seems to be doing okay. >> the good news, of course, is that he's recovering. the former president who is 92 has been at the hospital twice this year for pneumonia. the last time in january appeared more serious. he spent two weeks here. this time it's only been several days so far. but let me read a statement by his spokesperson that says "president george h.w. bush was admitted to houston methodist hospital on friday for observation due to a persistent cough that prevented him from getting rest. he had a minor case of pneumonia which has been resolved. president is in very good spirits." former president bush has a form of parkinson's disease and uses

a scooter or a wheelchair to get around. he and his wife, barbara, recently celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary. hallie? >> jacob, do we know any timeline on when he may be released and any word on where he will know next? >> we don't. to be honest, the last time he was in the hospital we only learned he had been released a day after he had already gone home. we'll see what happens. >> keep an eye on that door, will you, pal? next up we're talking about one dreamer granted protection twice under the obama administration. here he is now deported under president trump. we're going to be talk about why his story is raising new questions about this white house's immigration policy with the reporter who broke this piece. stick around. can i get some help. watch his head. ♪

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nosy neighbor with a glad bag, full of trash. what happens next? nothing. only glad has febreze to neutralize odors for 5 days. guaranteed. even the most perceptive noses won't notice the trash. be happy. it's glad. we are back on this cloudy day in washington. president trump behind us here at the white house got there partly by talking tough on immigration. but he hasn't been talking much at all about doca, hasn't been touching protections for the so-called dreamers. at least not yet. new questions where this all goes next. . "usa today" reporting he was deported to mexico a couple months ago. the paper says he was granted deportation protection twice under doca. but they say on the night of february 17th, he didn't show i.d. or proof of his status when he was approached by a border protection officer.

he left his wallet in a friend's car and told he couldn't go back and get the documents he needed. the department of homeland security told "usa today" they couldn't confirm. alan, where is montez now? what has happened since that night on february 17th? >> ever since that night he has been living down in western mexico. that is as close as i can tell you. when my colleague met him down there, he asked that that not be publicized. he didn't want this to be a thing where he's constantly being harassed. so, he asked that he wanted tatell his story once and get it out there and explain what happened. now, he's living down there while his attorney in the united states filed the lawsuit against federal government to compel them to release details about what exactly happened that night. they have been asking for months and been waiting and now this is going to move into the federal court system to see how much information customs and border protection has and how much they can turn over. >> talk about the legal steps

here because i think that lawsuit was filed yesterday. so, where would they go at this point? is it about more information and about taking action against the administration or is that down the red, oad, if it comes to th? >> that comes down the road. resolving his case and trying to get him back to the united states. that comes down the road. the very first step in the process. his attorneys followed the freedom of information act request. regarding that case and regarding that deportation. they didn't get an answer and they're filing this lawsuit in southern california to try to get a judge to order cpd to release that information and then we'll get taneo the next ss of what happened. >> a few minor convictions one for shoplifting and three for driving without a license. talk about whether that's grounds for deportation. >> quite simply, absolutely not. a federal agency that adj adjudicates these cases that approves doca and revokes doca for people and on their website

they use the example of driving without a license as an offense that is not considered when either approving or denying doca. that's something that is considered so low profile and so minor that it doesn't even come into the equation to have your doca revoked you have to commit a felony, what they call a significant misdemeanor, a violent offense and a bit of prison time or an accumulation of at least three minor misdemeanors. so, according to them, he has one strike because of that shoplifting charge but he hasn't reached those three and driving without license offense doesn't factor into it at all. >> stick around. i want to turn to our panel. president trump on february 16th was talking about doca. listen to what he had to say. >> you have some absolutely incredible kids. i would say mostly. they were brought here in such a way -- it's a very, very tough subject. we're going to deal with doca with heart. >> david? >> it's really interesting.

a big dilemma for the white house because as much as trump has talked on immigration and hardliners understand the political calculus here. the doca participants which number almost a million are some of the most sort of sympathetic cases. the kids who were brought here and they didn't have a say in it and they grew up mostly here. president obama always talked about them as strivers and to overturn that to officially get rid of doca would produce a major outcry and boom rang back to the white house. live in limbo status. >> in between phase. >> advocates saying, look, we're not advising people to sign up new to this program because you're coming forward at a time when this administration is looking to promote more people. this exact type of case that advocates will point to and say, look, they'll go after these people and behind the scenes and not publicize it but boost their deportation numbers by going after people. >> julie, any political

incentive for the white house now to get out of this limbo when it comes to doca? >> it's a tough one. just having that human face of an example now, an emotional example of the repercussions some of some of these policies. i'm wondering what kind of outreach, if any, the white house is doing to this individual and his attorneys or vice versa. i'm curious to see how it develops from a public relations perspective from the white house. >> the white house has been focusing more on the opposite. those who have been victimized by immigrants. some sat with the president in his box during the address to congress and met with him in the oval office. >> al, do you have any reporting on white house reaction yet or any guidance to julie's point or her question, has there been any outreach on either side? >> from the white house so far we haven't heard anything. but department of homeland security is fighting back on this pretty hard. they're saying that they don't have a record of him being deported. they only have a record of him trying to reenter the country and they're questioning his doca status. they're saying it expired back

in 2015. i've sent them documents showing that -- documents that he had that seemed it was renewed in january of 2016 and extended through 2018. it was valid for another two years and they haven't responded to nat yet. >> your story provoked reaction steve king toasting, essentially, this deportation. your reaction -- here's the tweet right here. this one is for you, with a link to your story, alan. reaction to that? >> i think this speaks to what you guys were just talking about. how difficult this is politically. on the one hand, you have a vast majority. almost all democrats support giving some sort of legal status to these dreamers. you have a good chunk of republicans who have that sympathy for them and who have that soft spot for them and want to see something done for them. but i think steve king speaks more to that base of trump support that has been very, that was very supportive of his

anti-immigration message and, so, i think that's what he's speaking to right there and that's what he risked politically if he just completely adopts doca and allows it to proceed. >> if you look at the hardest line congress members over the last few years, especially in 2013 when president obama tried to go forward with a comprehensive bill. sessions is now the attorney general. these ideas are very close to the white house. this is what donald trump ran on. steve king is one of the most outspoken. to him the politics are different in iowa. he will go out and continue to say that. for others, a much more complicated situation. that's why trump has not overturned this yet. >> very divisive even in the gop. >> maybe not in 2018, but certainly 2020. latinos are among the fastest growing voter bloc. >> david, julie, thank you very much. alan gomez thank you for coming on andi talking about your

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guys breaking news from here in washington. jas of jason chaffetz is not running for re-election. this is news that the congressman is just confirming. he was first elected in 2008. one of the first and most prominent republican lawmakers to drop support of then candidate donald trump after that infamous "access hollywood" tape and then reversed course a few weeks later to say he would vote for the party nominee. jason chaffetz putting on his facebook page. he has long advocated that public service should be for a limited time and not a lifetime or a full career. he is now returning, we're going to work on getting a graphic from that facebook page. now returning to the private sector. he may run for public office, again, but it is not going to happen in 2018. this is a big deal. and this is all happening just in the last couple of minutes here. we are fortunate to have with us the director of domestic policy

and a former senior policy adviser to governor pence and julie and david are back with me. quick reaction to the news that is just coming in as we are waiting to get more reaction potentially to hear more from the congressman himself. >> this is a big deal. few republicans have been in as awkward of a position as jason chaffetz in the campaign, as you pointed out. runs the house oversight committee and having to do oversight in the time of trump in a white house environment that has so many potential conflicts of interest really challenging stuff for him. i mean, if hillary clinton had won, he would have been a republican all-star. you know, there would have been a lot of appetite to go after all sorts of different investigations on the clinton white house. with the trump white house, his role is a little dicier. so, it's surprising and interesting news that he's not seeking re-election. >> ryan, what is your take away on this and the political pressures that the congressman has faced? >> i think that what we're seeing here is an example of a member who's gotten embroiled in

these controversies. republicans have had the hardest time congealing around consistent policy message and i think that's added to the problem, too. republicans are sort of adrift right now both on health care and tax form and agreeing. when you're in the middle of the controversies and temperatures are high, patience is short with people and i think he's just gotten himself into a place where it's just not tenable. >> for those that would speculate otherwise, let me be clear that i have no aul temoti. but reiterates his decision not to leave the public sector, return to the public sector. he is somebody that has, as you have talked about, been in a precarious position, david. not one of the top allies, i would say, in congress for

president trump. >> when you take away your endorsement and then come back. they remember that kind of thing in this white house. >> he certainly does. >> this is someone if hillary had won was preparing for that. he had a number of investigations lined up ready to go even before the election day. he was ready to do so. so, ironically, he had the republican lost in the race, he maybe would have been in better standing. >> we are working to get reaction from the white house. chris jansing has jogged in from the north lawn to be pressing on that front. can we even begin to talk about who might fill jason chaffetz's shoes here? too early? >> who wants that -- >> you have 30 seconds to digest this, ryan. please. >> i can't answer that question right now. i don't see anyone racing for that seat. who wants that right now. >> how about on the congressional front. who will step up as chair right now? >> that is a good question, as well. how empowered are you in that role right now? this is a white house that is

not going to stand for a lot of, you know, investigations without a big pushback, obviously. >> indeed, he saw immediate blowback in his own district from what he was and was not doing right. >> whoever steps into the role is going to know that coming in, that they'll have democrats and anti-trump resistance people filling their town halls. be very unable to get anything else done. it takes over your whole congressional life. >> chaffetz was also strong after that. i remember sitting on set when this video, the blowback, was happening. he was the first guy to talk about his family, doing it for his daughters. several weeks later, was among tho those who stepped up and said, i will support president trump in the long run. >> that's right. >> you see what's happening in washington with the investigation into the connections to russia with the campaign. all these things become quickly politicized, which is not unusual. it is always the case in washington. in this day and age, when trump has, you know, his own platform every day on twitter, an enormous following on social

media, he can galvanize quickly against a pushback that looks like a non-partisan approach, it becomes politicized in a way that gets in the way. >> we're seeing now what observers predicted last fall. at some point, you have these fissures within the republican party. how they deal with donald trump as president. this is now the era of the angry town halls, where people are actually having to decide whether to defend the president on his taxes. we saw langford say he should release them. cotton said he shouldn't. you saw the different reaction there. they're not necessarily all on the same page here. people were predicting this would happen at some point after inauguration. there was relative unity up through the health care fight. now because of the town halls in particular, i think we're seeing how difficult it is for leading members of the gop to know how to deal with a president, his positions. >> let's talk about the fish sus because they exist.

j jodi was pressed on the executive order the president was signing yesterday. hire american. she said, maybe he should put his money where his mouth is. the vice president is pushed on this issue of tax returns, the topic you're talking about. you've seen the dichotomy between, let's say, langford and cotton here. i want to play a little of what the vice president had to say. >> are you going to buck the example of your boss and release your own taxes? >> well, during the course of the campaign, we released our taxes. i expect we'll continue that tradition. the president will make his own decision about how to handle that issue. >> your take away on that, ryan? >> sort of an unwilling way of saying, please release the returns. we'd be a lot better off, for all of us. he cited the fact he released his. said he suspected it would happen in due course. the longer this drags on, the

harder it is for everyone. >> you know this guy well. you've worked closely with him. do you think he feels like he is walking the line between being the loyalist for president trump, since the day he has been since announced as vp, but also drawing distance on topics like this? >> it is hard to know what to do with a claim, that you'll release this once you're done with the audit. a lot of people aren't satisfied with that anymore. we've seen it in the town halls, the reaction to the line. people are hired of hearing that. it is going to be a source of tension until it's taken care of. >> when you talk about what has happened to the republican party more broadly, talking, for example, what's happening on capitol hill with jason chaffetz announcing he won't re-run, is it enough to get things like tax reform or infrastructure planning over the goal line? >> i think you need to have more clear and stronger leadership from the white house on what victory actually looks like on

health care and tax reform. i think early on, they gave the floor to the congressional republicans. we've seen how that's gone. when it comes to the principles and policies of repeal and replace of obamacare and where we can find unity, covering pre-existing conditions, lots of things republicans agree on, you need to see the leadership from the white house. i think it needs to be stronger. i think vice president pence is fully capable of being that person to represent the white house's view and bring people together. i think they have a hard time getting themselves organized around that so far. >> you're hearing pushback from republicans now. >> i think that we have a president that has a number of flaws. i support a majority of the policies versus the actual person. i do think we need to bring manufacturing back to the united states. and i would love to see that. and, you know, maybe he puts his money where his mouth is and brings some of those jobs here.

so whether it is manufacturing or otherwise, it would be nice to see that investment in american jobs. >> talking about a flawed president here, david. >> i think the question comes down to what does the public really see and care about when it comes to whether it's his tax returns, his personal business, how it reflects on his leadership. i think the president made a bet as a candidate it wasn't going to stop him, and it didn't, from winning the white house. may not hold him back here. >> if you have lawmakers starting to stoke this issue, particularly from his own party, you just wonder where it is going. does he eventually feel the pressure that he apparently never felt during the campaign to just get the taxes out there, talk about it openly and move on? >> didn't seem to bug him during the campaign, ryan. >> what i heard the senator saying is, yes, there are flaws that are a problem, but there are actually positive things he's doing that should be more definitive in who he is as a president. i think there are things they're doing on regulatory reform. i think yesterday's announcement on the h1b visas was an attempt

to get more highly skilled people here. these are actually things that could be good for the economy, good for middle-american workers. i think what she's talking about, there's a lot of static in the air. there's a lot of tension that he draws to himself that gets in the way of the message. >> ryan, julie and david, thank you all for being with us this hour on msnbc. i'm being rude and checking my phone. we're watching for developments on the breaking news we've been talking about. jason chaffetz, the chair of the house oversight committee, not running for re-election. opening up a seat in utah. we're keeping an eye on that. also on what's happening later on tonight. that's when senator elizabeth warren will be joining the "rachel maddow show." talking about the democratic challenge to president trump's agenda and what happens next. stick around. ♪when you've got...♪

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that does it for me. i'm headed back to the white house, brace fing for a visit f the new england patriots. but not tom brady, who will not be attending. >> lots to talk about today. we were going to talk about georgia and the election there. the runoff. now, this news about jason chaffetz. i thought the most interesting part is when you apologized for checking your phone for updates. i didn't know it was a phone. >> they're coming in frequently. >> i'll apologize, too. have a great afternoon. right now on msnbc, the georgia runoff, 2 out of 18 candidates will face off in a june election for tom price's vacant house seat.